Goschenhoppen Folk Festival
Hi, all! You've seen it before, usually in August or September, our visit to the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival. The festival authentically, as possible, demonstrates home skills and trades from the 18th and 19th centuries - that's the 1700s and 1800s - from the Pennsylvania Dutch in the Goschenhoppen region of Southeastern PA. This geographic region is north and west of Philadelphia, so Addy Walker could very well have encountered these people and their skills.
This past August I donned a 19th century styled outfit and ventured to the festival. I wanted to see what Addy may have experienced and known how to do. Here is what I saw and learned.
You already know that Xyra demonstrates churning butter, so the first thing we did was to set up the butter demonstration. At first we started out with a small table, we were figuring out how to make it work.
Then, as everyone was checking on the demonstrations, we were offered a larger table. "We'll take it!" So much better!
Then the ice man came around. I remember reading in Happy Birthday, Addy that Addy's Poppa hauled ice. The illustration was very like the wagon at the festival. The ice man gave us ice for storing the butter.
I tried my hand at churning. It went well, but I was grateful for assistance from other visitors.
Then we went exploring.
At the stage I found a lovely flower box and the sandwich board announcing the morning concert.
I have to tell you, the folk festival grounds are split by a road. The road is like a time machine. On one side are all the home skills and trades for the 18th century and on the other 19th century. These next sites are all 18th century.
Nearby was the printer and his printing press. Printers would print flyers, leaflets, newspapers, and books!
The wood carver had many little birds. They are distelfinks - a stylized gold finch - but the lovely colored birds reminded my of Addy's parakeet, Sunny. Which bird is your favorite?
Redware is a popular type of pottery in this region. This lovely vase is filled with beautiful yellow flowers.
On the other side of the Antes House garden we found the textile skills. This is a type of ribbon. It is used on straw hats and as ties in all the women's clothes and the closure for aprons, skirts and short gowns. I'm not sure Addy's mother would have used ribbon like this or not. Perhaps for some but not for others.
Straw hats protect from the sun. At this demonstration they show the different types of straw plaits used in hat making. Addy wears a lovely straw hat in her books. Hers is a different shape. The ones made at the festival are wide brimmed that set on top of a woman's or girl's cotton bonnet.
These woven domes are bee hives.
These are two remedies. I'm not sure what the sumac lemonade was used for; however, the other is clearly a cough medicine. If you didn't live near the druggist, you learned how to use the local herbs and flora to make remedies.
What a darling cradle! This would be perfect for Addy's Ida Bean. Although, she's not really a baby doll. Every doll needs a bed. The young women at this demonstration teach visitors how to make tow dolls. These are cloth dolls made from scraps, stuffed with leftover flax tow fibers, then sewn shut. We have one at home. Her name is Linney.
The food was wonderful! My favorites were the chicken bot boi (aka pot pie) and apple butter.
Just next to our butter demonstration were the pastimes and games. This girl tried walking on stilts. This is a popular past time! Addy's Poppa made her stilts in Happy Birthday, Addy.
I had such a good time learning about the skills and trades of the Pennsylvania Dutch in the Goschenhoppen region north and west of Philadelphia. I don't know if Addy Walker or any of her family ventured outside of Philadelphia, but I know some of the wares from this area, like our butter, made it to the markets in the city.
I hope you enjoyed my adventure. Maybe I'll go again this August and have more to show you. What would you want to know about?
Which is your favorite photo?
Have you read the Addy Walker books by Connie Porter and illustrated by Dahl Taylor. I'm going to re-read them before the end of the month!
Thank you for stopping. Come visit with us again soon!
Best wishes!
#GoschehoppenHistorians
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